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Background Survivors (TV Series)
The Background Survivors, also sometimes classified as "redshirts"Redshirt is a slang term for a minor stock character of an adventure drama who dies violently soon after being introduced in order to dramatize the dangerous situation experienced by the main characters. The term originated with fans of the science fiction television series Star Trek, from the red shirts worn by Starfleet security officers and engineers, who frequently meet their demise during the episodes. Redshirt, Wikipedia. are the survivors who linger in the background during episodes while the main survivors are engaged in the story. These survivors usually have no part in the main storyline and perform normal, everyday, non-crucial actions, such as laundry and chores in the camp. Background survivors are usually left unnamed, have no speaking roles, and are uncredited. They are ideal for being used as redshirts, characters used to "dramatize the dangerous situation experienced by the main characters", such as the zombie attack on the camp in Episode 4 (Vatos). Background survivors also debut in the nursing home protected by the Vatos gang, as they are the thugs, volunteer nurses, and elderly residents living in security from the undead. A large number of background survivors also live at the town of Woodbury. Rowan states that 73 survivors live in the town, so the majority of them are background survivors. Atlanta Survivor Camp A total of 33 survivors lived in the camp set up outside of Atlanta, 13 being nameless, background survivors. They seem detached from the main cast as they have no dialogue (except screaming when the walkers attack), and only participate during significant events. During the zombie attack on the camp in the episode "Vatos", all background survivors were killed in the attack. The following morning, Glenn insisted that they all be buried on the hillside, instead of being burned along with the rest of the zombie carcasses. It also appears that a handful of background survivors (Jan, Frances Cobb, L. Stephanie Ray, Male Survivors # 1 & 2) appear exclusively in Days Gone Bye and Guts, most likely due to filming days and availability while other background survivors appear in later episodes, or are seen in all of them (excluding TS-19). One reason for having more extras appear in the first two episodes could be to make the camp look busy, as several characters had not been introduced on the show yet (Daryl, Ed, Carol, Sophia, Miranda, Louis, Eliza). Despite some of the extras not appearing in "Vatos" and "Wildfire", their characters (as unnamed background survivors) are considered dead as numerous bodies were seen being buried and the fact that they do not appear in the aftermath and none are considered missing, otherwise it would have been stated in the episode. File:Redshirt2 (DGB).jpg| Jan'''Interview with Frances Cobb File:Survivor3 (DGB).jpg| '''Frances CobbFrances Cobb, IMDB File:Survivor (DGB).png| L. Stephanie RayL. Stephanie Ray, IMDB File:Husband (Vatos).png| Mitch File:Malesurvivor2 (Vatos).png| Joe Hernandez'''Interview with Frances Cobb File:Survivor2 (DGB).jpg| '''Male survivor #1 File:Redshirt (DGB).jpg| Male survivor #2 File:Malesurvivor (Vatos).png| Male survivor #3 File:Male survivor 4 (Tell it to the Frogs).png|'Male Survivor #4' File:Teenage girl (Guts).png| Female survivor #1 File:Femalesurvivor1 (Vatos).png| Female survivor #2 File:BlueRedshirt (Guts).jpg| Female survivor #3 File:Female survivor 4 (Tell it to the Frogs).png|'Female Survivor #4' Speaking Roles Even though Background Survivors are never shown talking, some of their voices can be heard in the episode "Tell It to the Frogs". *"Hey, Dale, can you see what that is?" - said by an unknown background man when the group hears the approaching car alarm. *"Let him get a good look at it." - said by an unknown (possibly the same) man when the group asks what the sound is. *"Morning." - said by Mitch as Rick leaves his tent early the next day. *"It's over there!" - said by an unknown background man when the group hears the screams of Carl and Sophia in the woods. *"Over here! come on, come on!" - said by an unknown background man telling they group where the sounds came from. Atlanta Nursing Home At the nursing home are more than a dozen Vatos gang members, both thugs and nurses, as well as more than a dozen elderly residents that live in the well-protected compound. The thugs are seen working on vehicles in the garage, patrolling the compound and rooftops, and back up Guillermo when Rick and his men confront him. The survivors are only seen in Vatos. In the deleted scene from the Season Two premiere it is revealed that the compound was breach, with many thugs killed by zombies and the elderly residents all executed with gunshot wounds to the head. Whether the Vatos gang figured out everyone was infected and killed the old folk as a mercy killing/to prevent animation/death by zombies, or the compound was attacked by an separate group, is unknown. File:Nurse1.png|Woman administering medicine File:Patient1.png|Elderly woman with gray hair File:Nurse2.png|Woman reading from a book File:Patient2.png|Old man being read to File:Patient3.png|Old woman resting in hall NH patients.png|Residents sit in large room NH patients -2.png|Two people tend to Mr. Gilbert File:Dead elderly man (2).png|Dead man in deleted scene File:Dead elderly man.png|Dead man in deleted scene File:Dead nursing home residents (2).png|Dead people in deleted scene File:Dead nuring home residents.png|Dead people in deleted scene File:Unnamed_Thug_2.png|Unnamed thug File:Vatos_Gangster.jpg|Unnamed thug who held Glenn captive on roof File:Possible carlito thug.png|Thug found near Mr. Gilbert - possibly Carlito Road to Atlanta Hundreds of background survivors were seen standing and milling around their cars and some fighting over supplies in the traffic jam outside of Atlanta during the flashback at the beginning of the episode, "Chupacabra". They appeared to be a diverse group from all over the state, expecting to find sanctuary in Atlanta. They appeared to be conversing with other backgrounds. They also witnessed the Military firebombing of the city. It is unknown what happened to all of the survivors. Since the inbound lane for the city was empty until the traffic snarl by Hershel's Farm, it is likely that most of the people on the roadway were able to drive away. If any are still alive, they are likely either holed up in their homes or hiding in camps around the state, or at Woodbury. Perhaps some reached Fort Benning. Woodbury Survivors A total of 73 survivors live in the town of Woodbury, with the majority of them being unnamed. These men, women, and children live in the town and perform certain duties as apart of their jobs, such as landscaping or gardening, while children attend schools. Some men act as the town's guards and defenders, patrolling the walls. The survivors gathered around the Governor when he and his men returned to town with several military vehicles, and they examined the vehicles after the Governor's speech. Many of the town's residents were seen enjoying the miday barbeque and attended the gladiator fight at night between Merle Dixon and Caesar Martinez. Since most of the survivor extras do not have crucial roles to perform during filming, it is not uncommon to see the same person walk back and forth during a scene. For instance, when Michonne and Andrea talk while walking through town in Walk With Me, a red-haired boy in a blue shirt can be seen walking in the background past the women, but when the camera turns to Shupert, who is watching the women, the boy is suddenly in a chair next to him. These are minor bloopers. File:Walk with me woodbury extras (1).png|Woodbury Survivor #1 File:Woodbury extra 23 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #2 File:Walk with me woodbury extras (4).png|Woodbury Survivor #3 File:Walk with me woodbury extras (5).png|Woodbury Survivor #4 File:Walk with me woodbury extras (6).png|Woodbury Survivor #5 File:Walk with me woodbury extras (7).png|Woodbury Survivor #6 File:Walk with me woodbury extras (8).png|Woodbury Survivor #7 File:Walk with me woodbury extras (9).png|Woodbury Survivor #8 File:Walk with me woodbury extras (10).png|Woodbury Survivor #9 File:Walk with me woodbury extras (11).png|Woodbury Survivor #10 File:Walk with me woodbury extras (12).png|Woodbury Survivor #11 File:Woodbury extra 5 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #12 File:Walk with me woodbury extras (14).png|Woodbury Survivor #13 File:Walk with me woodbury extras (15).png|Woodbury Survivor #14 File:Walk with me woodbury extras (16).png|Woodbury Survivor #15 File:Woodbury extra 11 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #16 File:Walk with me woodbury extras (18).png|Woodbury Survivor #17 File:Walk with me woodbury extras (19).png|Woodbury Survivor #18 File:Walk with me woodbury extras (20).png|Woodbury Survivor #19 File:Woodbury extra 16 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #20 File:Pete.jpg|Woodbury Survivor #21 File:Woodbury extra 22 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #22 File:Woodbury extra 20 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #23 File:Woodbury extra 19 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #24 File:Woodbury extra 18 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #25 File:Woodbury extra 17 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #26 File:Woodbury extra 15 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #27 File:Woodbury extra 14 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #28 File:Woodbury extra 13 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #29 File:Woodbury extra 12 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #30 File:Woodbury extra 12 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #31 File:Woodbury extra 10 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #32 File:Woodbury extra 8 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #33 File:Woodbury extra 7 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #34 File:Woodbury extra 6 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #35 File:Woodbury extra 5 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #36 File:Woodbury extra 4 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #37 File:Woodbury extra 2 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #38 File:Woodbury extra 1 (Say the Word).png|Woodbury Survivor #39 WoodburyDog.jpg Notes *Special thanks to Brian of MyMedia-Forum.com for several screencaps of the background survivors. *'Frances Cobb' is a frequent background extra in many movies & TV shows, including as a campground survivor in The Walking Dead episodes Days Gone Bye and Guts. Taken from her November 7 Facebook status posting: ::Her status: Well, no luck in being seen in either Due Date or For Colored Girls, but I was seen for the second time in The Walking Dead. Last week, I was seen after about an hour. This time, I was at the beginning in the background preparing my tent and space in the campground. Looks like they will be using the campground a couple of more times. They filmed this all in one day. ::A comment from a friend: I think I saw you in last nights episode. Don't think you were wearing your straw hat? ::Her reply: Yes, you picked me out again. I was in the background arranging things for my tent. It was near the end of the day, so, they asked that I "lose the hat." I took it off, since I was finally in the shade! I think I will be in a couple of more episodes now because of the way they are inserting these scenes. Even though we were only there one day, it looks like we were there for weeks. :*Through email, Frances Cobb was asked by User:Mistertrouble189 about her role as background survivor (clarification when compared with a screenshot of her) and whether she only appeared in the show's pilot episode, as well as fate as of the zombie attack on the camp. This is what she had to say: ::Hello. Yes that is me. Thanks for the picture. I was also in the "Guts" episode in the distance preparing my tent. I was not consciously killed, but I have not seen myself except in the first two episodes. I could not believe how many scenes there are in the campground. I was only used one day perhaps due to my need of wearing a hat due to the sun. I'm glad it has been picked up for another season, but due to the ending of the last episode, they may have to change locations of the campground! *'L. Stephanie Ray' is an actress who appears in minor or non-credited roles in many movies and TV shows, such as Madea's Family Reunion, The Glades, October Road, and more. She has appeared as a background survivor during The Walking Dead pilot Days Gone Bye, watching Amy and Shane attempt to respond to Rick on the radio. External links *Background cast, Lostpedia. Category:TV Series Characters Category:Walking Dead Characters